


innocence & experience

by ladydetective



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fix-It, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 10:51:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10875240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydetective/pseuds/ladydetective
Summary: Several days after the conversation about his conception, Mateo has questions about the aunt he's never met.





	innocence & experience

**Author's Note:**

> -So the latest episode pissed me off for several reasons, one of them being that Mateo had to be shown a fucking picture in order to recognise his aunt. WTF  
> -This also morphed into a kind of fix-it for 3x16, though I might write another fic that elaborates on that.   
> -I'll post just one more chapter to this, where Mateo and Luisa actually get to meet.   
> -The first part comes across as kind of anti-Luisa, but it's just because it's partially written from Raf - and later Jane's - perspective.

A week had passed since Jane and Rafael had awkwardly tried to explain to Mateo the circumstances of his conception and he had yet to comment on it any further. They’d been nervous the morning directly following, expecting more questions they weren’t completely sure how to answer. Instead, however, Mateo was perfectly content to go about his normal routine, having seemingly forgotten about last night’s topic of conversation. As each day passed similarly, they breathed a collective sigh of relief, thinking they’d dodged a bullet.

Mateo was playing with his lego when a thought seemed to occur to him. He put down the toy and turned to his father, a questioning expression on his face. ‘Daddy, Is the woman in the picture your sister? Like Anna and Ellie are my sisters?’

No such luck. Rafael sighed, debating the best course of action. He slung an arm around his son, and thought a tentative truth would be best. ‘Yes, buddy, Luisa is my sister. Like Anna and Ellie are your sisters.’

Mateo frowned, confusion replacing the innocent questioning of before. ‘But daddy, if Luisa is your sister then why don’t you spend time with her? I see Anna and Ellie every single day!’

‘It’s a little different for grown-ups, we don’t need to see each other every day to stay friends.’ He replied. _Although,_ he thought bitterly _, we haven’t exactly been friends to each other lately._

‘But why haven’t I ever seen her? If she’s your sister, shouldn’t she be my friend?’

He exhaled, thinking of what to say next. He wished Jane was here – she always seemed so much better at handling conversations like this. ‘Well, buddy, to tell you the truth – Luisa and I haven’t been getting along very well lately.’

‘Why? Was she mean to you?’

‘Not exactly-’ _God, this was a mess_. He couldn’t explain to his son the way he’d resented his sister after the insemination, not if he didn’t want him to think he was some kind of accident – it’d give the poor kid a complex. He couldn’t really explain Rose or the alcoholism, either. ‘- She made some bad choices, buddy. I’m finding it hard to forgive her for them.’

‘So you guys are fighting?’

It’s a little more than that, but Rafael supposed that was the simplest explanation. ‘Yeah, I guess we kind of are.’

‘But daddy, when I fight with Anna and Ellie you always tell me that we need to make up because we’re family and families love each other.’

‘It’s a little more complicated than that, Mateo.’

Mateo was confused, and he didn’t like it. Daddy’s words weren’t making sense. Mateo fought with Anna and Ellie a lot and he always had to apologise. Secretly, though, he didn’t mind doing that because it meant that they could keep playing together. He liked playing with the twins. They were his little sisters, as well as his best friends. He couldn’t imagine fighting with them so much that he couldn’t play with them any more. If this Luisa person was his daddy’s sister, that meant she was his aunt. His friend Justin had an aunt. She sometimes picked him up from school and brought him for ice-cream. Mateo wondered if Luisa would bring him for ice-cream. He thought that he’d like to meet her.

‘But why, daddy? If she’s your family, then she’s my family. I want to meet her.’ His voice was firm and resolute, at least to the extent that it was possible for a four-year-olds to be.

Rafael wasn’t sure what to do, largely because his son’s words _made sense._ As much as he had been reluctant to admit it lately, Luisa _was_ his sister. She _was_ Mateo’s aunt. She was bound to Mateo in a way that couldn’t be erased, no matter how hard he or Jane may try.

And Luisa herself had been more vocal about this topic than usual, as well. After Mateo’s birth and subsequent kidnapping, she’d understood that the wound was too fresh for her to possibly visit him and had let it be. She brought it up again some months later, and Rafael had been genuinely considering it – but then he found out that she was still in contact with Rose, and any chance she might have had of meeting her nephew had been obliterated.

Maybe it was time to give her a chance. His PI hadn’t found any evidence linking her to Rose, nor had his bugs unearthed anything. Maybe Luisa really was done with her for good. Judging by the tone of Mateo’s voice, he knew this wasn’t a subject he would drop anytime soon. He was too like his mother that way. Rafael felt his mouth twist into a small smile at the thought.

‘You know what, buddy? I think you might be right. Let me talk to mommy about it.’

Mateo smiled at his father’s words, then returned to his lego. He hoped mommy would say yes. He really wanted to go for ice-cream. And meet his aunt.

* * *

 

Jane stared at Rafael, unsure whether or not she had heard him correctly. He’d been complaining to her about his sister for the better part of five years, and now he wants their son to meet her? What was he on?

‘No. Absolutely not. Come on, Raf. After everything? Really?’

‘I know how it sounds. Trust me, I do. But talking to Mateo earlier made me realise that he was kind of right. Like it or not, they are family. You know how he gets when he fixates on something, he’s not going to stop talking about her until we let him see her. And she’s not going to stop pestering me until she’s seen him.’ He sighed. ‘Maybe, if we let them see each other – under supervision the whole time – then the wonder will fade for him, and he’ll move onto whatever other new and shiny concept appears in front of him.’

‘I get where you’re coming from, Raf, but you said yourself that you think she might still be in contact with Rose. You know we can’t let him near her if that’s true.’

‘I haven’t been able to find any proof of that. Her room’s been bugged this whole time, and nothing’s come up. The PI I hired hasn’t been able to find anything either.’ He seemed reluctant to admit that, but continued on, ‘Maybe I was wrong.’

Jane considered his words. She’d never really interacted with Luisa, beyond their initial meeting and that hadn’t exactly gone well. All she’d heard since then had come from Rafael, and he wasn’t exactly an unbiased source. She’d always wanted Mateo to have the kind of large, extended family that she’d never had – and as things stood, he didn’t have that. When she’d made Lina his godmother, she’d hoped that the two of them would be able to form a relationship similar to aunt and nephew, but that hadn’t happened. Their brief interaction a few weeks ago had been the first time that Lina and Mateo had communicated in years, beyond the occasional birthday card.

She may not ever be able to like the woman, but maybe, _eventually_ , Luisa could be there for Mateo in the way that she’d wanted Lina to be. She levelled Rafael with a firm glare – unintentionally mirroring her son’s earlier demeanour, which he had to chuckle at. She swatted his arm, and said, ‘Fine. She can meet him. But supervised visits only, Raf. I mean it.’

Rafael smiled at her. ‘Of course. That’s the only kind I would allow. We’ve got this, Jane.’

* * *

 

Their argument in the Marbella had been one that had taken them a few days to recover from, but recover they had. Rose had furiously stormed out of the hotel, but leaving that environment coupled with lonely nights without Luisa’s company had forced her to reflect on her words. They _had_ been harsh – they’d come a long way since they’d left the Marbella three years ago, really tried to work on their issues – but it was like being back there had re-awoken parts of herself that she’d tried to leave behind. She knew that she shouldn’t have spoken to her like that, and eventually told her so.

For Luisa’s part, she came to realise that all these coincidences were suspicious and that Rose was probably right to be paranoid. This feeling was only increased when they eventually talked to each other again and Rose told her about the dude who nearly caught her without the mask during the time she was _supposed_ to be out of the room.

They had agreed on a compromise – Rose would stay in another hotel, and Luisa would spend most of her day there with her before returning to the Marbella in the evenings. It was enough to fool the bugs that Luisa now reluctantly believed were in her room.

Luisa and Rose were sprawled out together on the couch of their non-Marbella hotel suite, watching some of their latest Netflix show when the call came in. Rose reluctantly paused the TV while Luisa got up to take it, the former redhead grumbling at having to pause during a tense scene.

Luisa reached her phone, and saw Rafael’s face lighting up the screen. This was unusual – he rarely called of his own volition, not unless he wanted something, at least.

‘Hello?’ She answered, somewhat suspiciously. Their last conversation hadn’t gone particularly well.

‘Hey, Lu. Look, I’ve got something to run by you, but I want you to listen to my conditions carefully, okay?’

Luisa felt her curiosity – as well as her hopes, as ill-advised as they may be – begin to rise. ‘I’m listening.’

‘Jane and I have been talking, and we think it’s time that you meet Mateo.’

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing – finally, a chance to meet her nephew! She’d wanted this for _so_ long, and her brother’s recent behaviour had led her to believe that it may never happen. An excited, high-pitched squeal left her mouth involuntarily, causing Rose to look at her inquisitively and quirk an eye-brow, silently asking what was going on. Luisa beamed at her in response, before rushing out a stream of eager thank-yous to her brother.

‘Wait, I said there would be conditions. You’re getting this because Mateo asked for it. We told him the truth about his conception recently, and he seems interested in you. I thought that the first visit could happen tomorrow, at the Marbella. You’ll be supervised the whole time. Whatever happens, Luisa, please don’t fuck this up. There won’t be another chance if you do. I mean it.’

Luisa nodded sombrely for Raf’s benefit, before remembering that he couldn’t actually see her. So she tried to convey this sincerity in her words instead. ‘Of course. So I’ll see you tomorrow, then?’ It took a concentrated effort to maintain this serious tone, when her insides felt as if they were doing a salsa dance.

Rafael responded gruffly, not seeming all that enthusiastic, then hung up. Luisa dropped all pretense, and allowed her excitement to show. She bounced around the room, suddenly full of a wild kind of energy that seemed incapable of being tamed.

Rose continued to look at her strangely, her expression becoming less concerned and more cautiously curious. ‘Lu, what is it?’

Luisa threw herself back onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around Rose’s middle. ‘Rafael has agreed to let me see Mateo! Tomorrow, at the Marbella. It’s supervised, but whatever – it’s a start! God, I’ve wanted this for so long, Rose, and it’s finally happening.’

Rose had to admit that she was surprised – she didn’t think Rafael would have folded this easily. She knew that his opinion of Luisa wasn’t high, and that never failed to make her blood boil. Luisa deserves better. Though _perhaps_ this latest development could signify the beginning of a truce between the two siblings – she doubted it, personally, but was happy that it seemed to be making Luisa so happy.

She put her arms around her girlfriend, so that both of them were further enmeshed together, before saying, ‘I’m glad. You’re going to be an amazing aunt, and Mateo is lucky to have you. Did Rafael mention why he’s decided to let up?’

‘Apparently he and Jane told Mateo the story of how he was conceived, and the little guy had questions about me. He’s the one that asked.’

Rose felt a flare of irritation – _of course_ Rafael hadn’t decided this of his own volition, _of course_ his toddler had to be the one to kick his ass – but she pushed it down. Once, she would have pointed this out, probably ruining Luisa’s good mood. Now, though, she let her girlfriend have her happiness. God knows, she deserved it.

‘That’s good. Means he wants to see you – you won’t have to force him into conversation.’

Luisa smiled brightly. ‘That’s what I was thinking! And maybe, if tomorrow goes well, later visits might not need to be supervised. I’d be able to bring him to all kinds of places… the beach, a funfair…’

‘I really am happy for you, Lu,’ she said, more softly than was her norm. ‘Now, how about we celebrate?’

‘I thought you’d never ask.’


End file.
